# वेदि (vedi)

Canonical page: https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/vedi

वेदि (vedi) is a Sanskrit word meaning a wise man, teacher, or Pandit, knowledge, science, a seal-ring, an epithet of Sarasvati, used in compounds for knowing, an elevated piece of ground serving for a sacrificial altar. Its 24 recorded definitions are grouped into 9 contexts, among them Sacrificial Altar or Sacred Ground, Wise Person, Teacher, or Knower, Proper Name (Geographical).

- **Etymology:** E. विद to know, &c. Uṇādi aff. इन्, and ङीष् optionally added in the fem. form — E. vida to know, &c. Uṇādi aff. in, and ṅīṣ optionally added in the fem. form
- **SLP1:** `vedi`  **IAST:** vedi  **Devanagari:** वेदि
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedi_%28altar%29
- **Declensions:** 72 forms — https://sanskritlexicon.com/word/vedi/declensions.md
- **Other headwords romanised the same way:** वेदी (vedī)

## Meanings by context

### Sacrificial Altar or Sacred Ground (12 definitions)
- an elevated piece of ground serving for a sacrificial altar  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > [Printed book page 1017,3] 3. वेदि (vedi) f. (later also वेदी (vedī); for 1. 2. See col. 2) an elevated (or according to some excavated) piece of ground serving for a sacrificial altar (generally strewed with Kuśa grass, and having receptacles for the sacrificial fire; it is more or less raised and of various shapes, but usually narrow in the middle, on which account the female waist is often compared to it), RV. &c. &c. [ ID=206102 ]
- the space between the spokes of a wheel-shaped altar  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > the space between the supposed spokes of a wheel-shaped altar, Śulbas. [ ID=206103 ]
- 1. An altar, especially a shallow sacrificial bed covered with straw. 2. A stand, pedestal, or bench.  
  *Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेदि (vedi) [Printed book page 298-3 ] वेदि (vedi) véd-i, f. shallow bed dug out ( in the sacrificial court ) covered with straw, containing the sacred fire-places and serving as an altar; being narrow in the middle, the female waist is often compared with it; Vedi-shaped open pavilion in a court-yard prepared for weddings; stand, pedestal, bench: ( i ) -kā, f. Vedi-shaped pavilion (= vedi); stand, bench. [ ID=17043 ]
- 1. An altar or raised ground used for sacrificial fires and offerings. 2. A quadrangular covered spot with a raised floor in a temple or palace courtyard. 3. A seal ring. 4. A wise teacher. 5. A name of Sarasvati.  
  *Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेदि (vedi) [Printed book page 807 ] वेदि (vedi) f. ( - दिः (-diḥ)- दी (-diḥ-dī) ) 1 Ground for placing the vessels used at an oblation, or for binding the victim, or lighting the sacrificial fire; it is more or less raised and of various shapes; an altar, &c. 2 A quadrangular spot in the court-yard of a temple or palace, usually furnished with a raised floor or seat, and covered with a roof supported by pillars: see वितर्दि (vitardi). 3 A seal ring. m. ( - दिः (-diḥ) ) A Paṇḍita, a teacher. f. ( - दिः (-diḥ) ) A name of SARASVATĪ, the wife of BRAHMĀ. E. विद (vida) to know, &c. Uṇādi aff. इन् (in), and ङीष् (ṅīṣ) optionally added in the fem. form. [ ID=36739 ]
- 1. An altar. 2. A seal ring. 3. A pandit. 4. Sarasvati.  
  *Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेदि (vedi) [Printed book page 725-b ] वेदि (vedi) ( दिः (diḥ)- दी ) ((diḥ-dī)) 2. 3. f. An altar; seal ring. m. A pandit. f. ( दिः (diḥ) ) Sara- swatī. [ ID=36357 ]
- 1. A sacrificial altar. 2. A quadrangular spot in front of a temple or palace. 3. A seal ring. 4. An epithet of Sarasvati.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेदि (vedi) (II) f. 1. An altar, one prepared for a sacrifice; 2. a quadrangular spot before a temple or a palace; 3. a seal-ring, मध्येन सा वेदि (vedi) विलग्नमध्या (madhyena sā vedivilagnamadhyā) K.S. i.39 (against Mall. who renders वेदि (vedi) by परिष्कृता भूमिः (pariṣkṛtā bhūmiḥ) ); 4. an epithet of Sarasvatī. [ ID=36242 ]
- 1. An altar or raised ground used for sacrificial fires and offerings. 2. A quadrangular covered spot in a courtyard with a raised floor. 3. A seal-ring. 4. A Pandit or teacher. 5. A name of Sarasvati.  
  *Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेदि (vedi) [Printed book page 688-b ] वेदि (vedi) f. ( - दिः (-diḥ)- दी (-diḥ-dī) ) 1. Ground for placing the vessels used at an oblation, or for binding the victim, or lighting the sacrificial fire; it is more or less raised and of various shapes; an alter, &c. 2. A quadrangular spot in the court-yard of a temple or palace, usually furnished with a raised floor or seat, and covered with a roof supported by pillars: see वितर्द्दि (vitarddi). 3. A seal-ring. m. ( - दिः (-diḥ) ) A Pandit, a teacher. f. ( - दिः (-diḥ) ) A name of SARASWATĪ. E. विद् (vid) to know, &c., Unādi aff. इन्, (in,) and ङीष् (ṅīṣ) optionally added in the fem. form. [ ID=38451 ]
- 1. An altar or ground prepared for sacrifice. 2. A quadrangular spot in a courtyard with a raised floor and roof. 3. A bench. 4. A seal-ring. 5. A teacher. 6. Sarasvati.  
  *Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेदि (vedi) [Printed book page 0901-a ] वेदि (vedi) I. and वेदी (vedī) vedī̆, f. 1. Ground prepared for sacrifice, an altar, Śāk. 31, 6; Nal. 1, 9; Rām. 1, 21, 5. 2. A quad- rangular spot in the court-yard of a temple or palace, usually furnished with a raised floor or seat, and covered with a roof supported by pillars, Bhāg. P. 4, 25, 16. 3. A bench, ib. 3, 23, 17. 4. A seal-ring. II. वेदि (vedi) vedi, 1. m. A teacher. 2. f. Sarasvatī. — Comp. Ut- tara-vedi, f. the northern fire-place, MBh. 3, 7078. Ud-vedi, adj. furnished with an elevated altar, Ragh. 17, 9. Vahis-vedi, adv. on the outside of the sacred hearth, Man. 11, 3. [ ID=13973 ]
- 1. A sacrificial altar or bed. 2. A support, pedestal, or bench.  
  *Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेदि (vedi) [Printed book page 523 ] वेदि (vedi) f. the sacrificial bed or altar (excavated in the ground and covered with grass or straw); i.g. support, pedestal, bench. [ ID=30985 ]
- sacrificial bed  
  *Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary*
  > वेदि (vedi) [Printed book page 252-b ] védi, f. sacrificial bed, i. e. a spot of ground excavated two or three inches and covered with straw and serving as a kind of altar. [ ID=4033 ]
- 1. An altar or raised ground prepared for sacrifice. 2. A quadrangular spot in the courtyard of a temple or palace. 3. A bench. 4. A seal-ring. 5. Sarasvati. 6. A teacher or pandit.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872)*
  > वेदि (vedi) [Printed book page 0965-b ] Vedi, is, or vedī, f. (in Śatapatha-Brāhmaṇa I. 2, 5, 7. said to be fr. rt. 1. vid, ‘to acquire;’ but per- haps connected with rt. ve, ‘to weave or bind to- gether’), an altar or raised place made of Kuśa grass or strewed with it and prepared for an oblation for placing the vessels used at a sacrifice, a place or ground prepared for sacrifice, (it is more or less Page0965-c+ 78 raised and of various shapes); an altar (in general); a quadrangular spot in the court-yard of a temple or palace (usually furnished with a raised floor or seat and covered with a roof supported by pillars, = vi- tardi ); a bench; a seal-ring; N. of Sarasvatī (wife of Brahmā); ( is ), m. a teacher, Paṇḍit. —Vedi-jā, f. ‘altar-born,’ epithet of Draupadī, wife of the Pāṇḍu princes, (the fee which Droṇa required for instructing the Pāṇḍu princes was that they should conquer Drupada, king of Pañcāla, who had insulted him; they therefore took him prisoner, and he, burning with resentment, undertook a sacrifice to procure a son who might avenge his defeat; two children were then born to him from the midst of the altar, out of the sacrificial fire, viz. a son Dhṛṣṭa- dyumna, and a daughter Draupadī or Kṛṣṇā, after- wards wife of the Pāṇḍavas.) —Vedi-pratiṣṭha, as, ā, am, erected on sacrificial ground. —Vedi- mekhalā, f. the boundary cord of a sacrificial ground. —Vedi-vat, ind. like the sacrificial altar. —Vedīśa (°di-īśa), as, m. ‘lord of the Vedi,’ epithet of Agni; of Brahmā (as husband of Sarasvatī). —Vedy-anta, as, m. the end of the Vedi. [ ID=44848 ]
- the place of the fire altar in a sacrifice  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Vedi (III) — (also Veditalam) the place of the fire altar in the sacrifice. Vā. 69. 60; 97. 25. [ ID=13609 ]

### Wise Person, Teacher, or Knower (3 definitions)
- a wise man, teacher, or Pandit  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 1017,2] 1. वेदि (vedi) m. a wise man, teacher, Paṇḍit, L. [ ID=206054 ]
- used in compounds for knowing  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2) [Printed book page 1017,2] 2. वेदि (vedi) in comp. for 1. वेदि (vedi) न् (vedin). [ ID=206058 ]
- A learned man or pandit.  
  *Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary*
  > वेदि (vedi) [Printed book page 691-03 ] वेदि (vedi) (I) m. A learned man, a paṇḍit. [ ID=36241 ]

### Proper Name (Geographical) (2 definitions)
- the name of a Tirtha  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > N. of a Tīrtha, MBh. (only ई (ī) ) [ ID=206106 ]
- a river served by the Siddhas  
  *The Purana Index*
  > वेदि (vedi) [Printed book page 3-321 ] Vedi (I) — a R. served by the Siddhas. Br. III. 13. 81. [ ID=13607 ]

### Stand, Pedestal, Bench, or Seat (2 definitions)
- A stand, basis, pedestal, or bench.  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a stand, basis, pedestal, bench, MBh.; Kāv. &c. [ ID=206105 ]
- an oblong pedestal for images that is unfit for installing lingas and is believed to grant abundant riches  
  *The Purana Index*
  > Vedi (II) — one of the ten pīṭhas for images, oblong; unfit for installing lingas; this gives abundant riches. M. 262. 6, 17. [ ID=13608 ]

### Courtyard Pavilion or Verandah (1 definition)
- a covered verandah or balcony in a courtyard  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a kind of covered verandah or balcony in a court-yard (shaped like a Vedi and prepared for weddings &c. = वितर्दि (vitardi) ), Kāv.; Kathās. [ ID=206104 ]

### Knowledge or Science (1 definition)
- knowledge, science  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > वेदि (vedi) f. knowledge, science (see अ - व् (a-v) ° (°) ) [ ID=206055 ]

### Name of Goddess Sarasvatī (1 definition)
- an epithet of Sarasvati  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > (H2B) [Printed book page 1017,2] वेदी (vedī) a f. N. of Sarasvatī, L. [ ID=206057 ]

### Seal-Ring (1 definition)
- a seal-ring  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > a seal-ring (also ° दिका (°dikā) ), L. [ ID=206056 ]

### Species of Plant (1 definition)
- a species of plant  
  *Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899)*
  > वेदि (vedi) n. a species of plant (= अम्बष्ठ (ambaṣṭha) ), [ ID=206107 ]

## Sources

Definitions from Benfey Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Cappeller Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Lanman's Sanskrit Reader Vocabulary; Macdonell Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1872); Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899); Shabda-Sagara Sanskrit-English Dictionary; The Purana Index; Vaidya Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Wilson Sanskrit-English Dictionary; Yates Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
Text from the Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, University of Cologne.

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